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Apprenticeship Vacation Scheme

Express Solicitors is launching its Apprenticeship Vacation Scheme, providing high-quality work experience for students interested in learning more about our Solicitor Apprenticeship programme.

The placement is open to students in Year 12 or Year 13. Applications are welcomed from all eligible students, although those studying a law-related A-level, BTEC or T Level, or who demonstrate a clear interest in personal injury law, may have an advantage. Find out more about our Solicitor Apprenticeship.

Our 2027 opportunities are listed below.

Vacation Scheme Dates of Vacation Scheme Application Opening Date Application Closing Date
Spring Half Term Vacation Scheme Feb 15 – Feb 19, 2027 Nov 13, 2026 Dec 11, 2026
Summer Vacation Scheme July 26 – July 30, 2027  May 7, 2027 June 4, 2027

Each of our Vacation Schemes consists of a one-week voluntary work placement, working 9am to 5pm.

The placement will be office based, so it’s important that you can attend in person at our head office at South Court, 1 Sharston Road, M22 4SN.

It will include a series of tasks and development opportunities. Each work experience applicant will have the opportunity to conduct real case work, talk to our current apprentices and get involved in a group project. You will also receive your own dedicated Trainee Mentor who will coach and support you through the Vacation Scheme.

How to make the most of your Vacation Scheme

Keep Calm

This may be the first-time you have ever been in a professional office and therefore it can be intimidating; please bear in mind that our placements are highly competitive to get on to and you have already made a good impression so don’t be nervous!

Think About Your Presentation

Dressing appropriately is important for any professional role. We have a smart casual dress code at our office and it is the responsibility of those in the office to ensure that they are dressed accordingly. Examples of inappropriate dress would be sweatshirts, T-shirts (including football/sports shirts), jeans, and trainers. You are expected to dress more formally if you are going to court or meeting clients, you will be able to see when this is required from looking at the timetable we will provide you.

Make Notes

The week can go by quickly and before you know it the experience is over, taking notes allows you to retain more of the information in the sessions and e-learning. You can refer back to this to refresh your memory or to discuss in interviews when asked about your work experience. Useful things to make a note of include pathways to qualifying, what a day in the life looks like for different departments and any new jargon you have learnt. Taking time at the end of the day to reflect on what you have learnt can be a great way to evaluate your understanding of the day's activities. You can use this opportunity to think about anything you didn’t understand and if you need further information you can then research yourself or ask the next day.

Ask Questions

Put some thought into questions that may help you, for example, by asking any specific questions about the SQE or about legal areas to specialise in such as road traffic accidents or clinical negligence. You will be given the opportunity to interact with Trainee Solicitors who can answer your questions from the perspective of someone who has secured a training contract. Think about what you want to get out of the experience, your areas of interest, the clients and personal injury as a specialism. You have expressed an interest in law to be on this experience and this is a rare opportunity to find out if you would like to proceed with the career by asking any questions that will help you clarify what it is actually like to work in the legal field at a Personal Injury firm. Ask questions as you go throughout the sessions to maximise your learning. Do not be afraid to ask questions as we expect this on work experience placements and want to support you with your learning and development.

Engage With The Sessions

This is an opportunity for you to get the most out of the experience and maximise your learning in an environment outside of the classroom. This is your chance to see if personal injury is really right for you; you can’t know that if you don’t engage. The more you take from the experience the more you will be able to give in-depth and well-informed answers in interviews in the future, when talking about preferences and motivations.

Think of This Opportunity as a Stepping Stone

The work experience is an opportunity for you to get a foot in the door with a firm that actively hires graduates. Being proactive and engaging with the content will be impressive for us as a prospective employer if you are to make an application in the future. The opportunity for work experience could be the beginning of a professional relationship with Express Solicitors. We love it when our Vacation Scheme students return to us when they are ready to start their legal career.

Applying for our Vacation Schemes

Our Vacation Scheme recruitment process has 3 steps:

Step 1 – Application: Once applications are open, you will be able to apply via our vacancy page here. You will need to provide a copy of your CV and a covering letter detailing why you are interested in law and personal injury specifically.

Step 2 – Video Interview: if your application has been successful, you will be invited to complete a video interview. This will involve questions on your motivations and interest in law. Completing a video interview allows you to really demonstrate your passion and interests than just the information provided on a CV & cover letter. We really want to get to know you.

Step 3 – Interview: those successful during the video interview stage will be invited to an interview with our Emerging Talent Team. This will be on a one-to-one basis, via teams and will be a combination of strength and skill-based questions.

On a successful offer of a place within our Vacation Scheme, we will confirm which week and next stages. If you like some advice on either your CV or on interviews you can sign up to our Applications and Interviews Advice Clinic. If you want any more information, please contact emergingtalent@expresssolicitors.co.uk

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you offer any work experience to Year 10 students?

At present we do not offer any other work experience outside of our vacation schemes.

Can I do different dates?

You must be available for the full week on the dates provided as we cannot offer alternative dates from those given

Do I get paid for the vacation scheme?

We offer participants £150 for the week to cover travel and any amenity costs.

Using AI

As a business we have our own AI policy which can be viewed: here

Reasonable Adjustments

We are an equal opportunities employer and make our workplace as accessible as possible. We will happily carry out any reasonable adjustments to facilitate an application where a disability is involved.

Solicitors Apprenticeship at Express

Head over to our Legal Apprenticeship page to find our more about how Solicitor Apprenticeship works at Express.